By Patrick Adrian
[email protected]
BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. — In Rockingham, the decision regarding a new bridge placement should factor in the town’s master plan for The Island’s economic revitalization, according to town officials.
The Rockingham Selectboard announced it will vote next month on a bridge proposal to replace the crumbling 100 year old Depot Street, following a discussion with project managers on Wednesday.
After two months of presentations and discussions, the selectboard appears to have narrowed its decision to two replacement options: an on-alignment steel truss bridge in the same location as the existing one or an off-alignment bridge located further north.
According to project managers the on-alignment proposal would be the least expensive project, with an estimated total cost between $4.8 million and $5.3 million. The state of Vermont and federal government would cover 95% of the funding. Rockingham’s remaining cost share would be approximately between $454,000 and $475,000.
An off-alignment bridge would have an estimated total cost between $7.9 million and $8.3 million, with state and federal funds to cover 90%. Rockingham’s cost share would be between $1.1 million and $1.2 million.
Town officials are urging the selectboard to invest in the off-alignment option, which would provide provide a wider turn access for large commercial vehicles, redirect large truck traffic from the downtown and provide a desired connection between Bellows Falls and The Island, a mixed-use industrial and residential area that Rockingham officials hope to develop to attract start-up businesses.
Truck traffic on The Island has gradually declined, between the lack of access and loss of commercial businesses over the years, according to Gary Fox, Rockingham development director.
“The goal is to reverse that by improving the infrastructure,” Fox told the board. “Not just the bridges, the train station, the roads, the streetscapes, and make it more attractive and feasible to businesses there.”
The current Depot Street Bridge, which is also an “on-alignment” bridge, was not designed with consideration of today’s traffic, and replacing it with the same 90-degree angle and constricted intersect is not manageable for large trucks or busses and could produce traffic backup, Fox said.
Chair Peter Golec said he is wary about continuing to make costly decisions in hopes of revitalizing The Island.
“If we were such a magnetic place for industry, why aren’t developers standing in line to build something here?” Golec said. “You may say that’s a pessimistic view of it but I’m trying to get a bite of reality here.”
Fox said identified a number of opportunities on the Island — from surging demands for residential properties real estate, the reopening of Amtrak’s Vermonter line and the investment to demolish and clean up former mill buildings, such as the Roberston paper mill in 2019 — that could stir activity on The Island. But the town needs to invest in the infrastructure as well to attract those investors.
“If we keep doing what we’ve always done in not investing in the infrastructure and letting stuff get worse, of course no one is going to want to invest here,” Fox said.
There have been several studies conducted on economic development of The Island, Fox said. Additionally the town received a $35,000 grant through the Windham Regional Commission to fund a new study, which will incorporate information from the old studies and gather community input in upcoming forums regarding desired types of development on The Island.
The next selectman meeting will take place in June. Selectmen encouraged one another to read the town’s economic development plan pertaining to the Island and asked to have a detailed breakdown of the short and long term tax impacts for both the on-alignment and off-alignment projects.
Notably, both projects being considered would remove the existing historic bridge. Though one option would have repaired Depot Street Bridge for use as a pedestrian-only bridge, the town would have then assumed full ownership responsibility of the bridge, including its future maintenance and eventual demolition. The selectboard worried about absorbing the full cost to remove the bridge when it reached its end of life as well as liability should the bridge eventually collapse.
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